[ad_1]
Top federal prosecutors in Los Angeles are ratcheting immigration enforcement in prisons as the Trump administration is looking for more ways to eliminate more immigrants from sanctuary cities.
Our atty. Bill Essayri announced this week a pilot program called the “Operation Guardian Angel” aimed at “neutralizing” sanctuary state law. The office identifies individuals with a criminal record of deportation and charges them with illegally re-entering the United States, a federal crime.
The tactic focuses on federal resources on the Main Place Sanctuary Rules, hinders the work of immigration agents, which are county and state prisons.
“Under the Trump administration, we will not allow sanctuary jurisdictions to prevent Americans from keeping people safe,” the essay announced the program and posted to X.
State officials say they are already working with federal officials on immigrants who commit crimes.
“The Trump administration may try to denounce California as it was desperate to realize its false, inhumane, massive deportation agenda, but immigration enforcement has always been the federal job,” a California Atty spokesperson said. General Rob Bonta.
The practice of prosecuting individuals for illegal entry was widely adopted under the Obama administration and the Second Bush administration, but has been discontinued in recent years. Reopening it could increase the number of immigrant arrests in the area, experts say.
Essayri, a former state legislator and son of a Lebanese immigrant, was appointed last month. He told Fox News that he created a dedicated group of federal officials to identify deported and incarcerated immigrants through a database. New efforts can result in dozens of bills each week.
The administration is unhappy with California’s policy that prohibits local law enforcement from arresting someone just for deportation orders, or putting immigration agents in prison for an extra time so that they can be detained.
Past immigration officers have relied on local police to help enforce, but over the past decade, California and other states have increased immigrant protections. The state reduced its involvement in street and prison immigration enforcement, leading to a 2018 law that ended the use of the 287(g) contract, allowing local guards to elect suspects.
Immigration activists alleged that these agreements erod trust with the community and punished immigrants for minor violations.
The Trump administration has been actively pushing for reviving such programs across the country as they seek to raise good on the promise of massive deportation.
“The days of giving criminals free passes to illegal aliens are over,” the essayri said in a statement. “Currently, California may be ignoring detainees, but we cannot ignore federal arrest warrants.”
There is still a lot of cooperation between state and federal immigration authorities.
Under state law, California prison officials can transfer prisoners to immigration custody, but they must give the person a written notice. Police can also notify immigration agents of someone’s release if they are found to be found guilty. They include felony that caused state prisons, most other felonies related to records over the past 15 years, and some high-level misdemeanors within the past five years.
President Trump portrays sanctuary cities as more dangerous, with much of his immigration agenda surrounded by criminal removal. Experts say rhetoric doesn’t match reality.
“The basic assumption is widespread immigrant crime,” said Chalis Cublelin, a professor of criminology at UC Irvine. Her research and others show that there is no connection between sanctuary status and crime.
“Immigrants commit a higher rate of crime than born people, and immigration to the community doesn’t increase crime rates,” she said.
Essayli’s office said his office could file charges and seek a warrant for arrest, allowing federal agents to “put as many defendants away from state prisons as possible.”
In 2023 and 2024, federal prosecutors in the Central District of California (covering seven counties, including Los Angeles) charged a total of 17 people who were responsible for illegal re-entry after removal.
Between January 20th and May 1st, the office requested 347 people for illegal re-entry. Thirteen people were arrested in the first five days of the program, which began on May 10th. This is actually slower than the previous three months.
But even if numbers increase, the program could encounter obstacles created by its own success as the number of prosecutors grows.
“At the end of the day, they will encounter a problem of competence,” said Muzafa Chishti, a senior fellow at the Institute for Immigration Policy.
Staff writer Andrea Castillo contributed to this story.
[ad_2]Source link
